(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for artifically curing green tobacco by means of acid incubation.
(b) State of the Art
Green tobacco leaf curing and/or aging by suspending the leaves in darkness or otherwise disposing the leaves while controlling temperature and relative humidity of circulating air currents is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,113,902, 1,543,245, 1,545,811, 1,568,316, 2,343,345 and 3,086,553. Forced air flow through bundles of green leaves has also been suggested as a means to cure green tobacco in U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,456. Such conventional methods of curing tobacco, characteristically require several days and may entail substantial expenditures for fuel. Further such curing processes tend to be labor intensive.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,774 curing is effected by homogenizing yellowed tobacco leaf, incubating the homogenized material and then curing the mass as it is dried. The leaf characteristics may be manipulated during this homogenization curing method by chemical, physical or biological means; for example, ascorbic acid is added to the homogenate in Example 9.
However, none of these prior art methods effect curing by means of acids. Further, in contrast to the majority of prior art curing methods, the present acid curing method provides means for eliminating the green color and green odor and taste of tobacco which is rapid and less labor and energy intensive.